The Christian faith today appears to be the one faith within which anyone can do anything and get away with it. “Men of God” have flogged and indecently touched their congregants in the name of deliverance, Christians dress indecently in the name of “God looks at the heart”, prayers have been made for people based on how much money they bring to a church service, etc. The amount of indiscipline that is excused in the Christian faith is unbelievable.

For the undisciplined Christian, all they need to justify their indiscipline are words in the Bible that appear to condone their behaviour (even if those words are read out of context). For example, a drunkard will quote the story of Jesus Christ turning water into wine as God’s approval of drunkenness. 

If they are unable to find a Bible verse, they will refer to an incident recorded in the Bible where someone acted as they have. For example, a polygamous man will refer to the fact that King Solomon had 1,000 wives as proof of God’s approval of polygamy.

If the undisciplined Christian is unable to find justification for their behaviour from the Bible, they will claim to be doing whatever they are doing under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Or, they will simply defend their behaviour using the strongest emotional arguments they can concoct without any solid biblical backing. 

For the undisciplined Christian, it's all about numbers (not truth). Public approval of their behaviour, regardless of the faith of their supporters, is all that matters—the more people one can get to approve their behaviour, the louder (albeit not stronger) their justification for their indiscipline.

Once they have enough crowd on their side, anyone who condemns their indiscipline, even if with plain Biblical truths, is immediately branded as one who lacks the Holy Spirit or is being used by Satan. I run this risk by writing this article.

Street preaching has been a divisive topic in Ugandan society for a while. There are those who consider street preachers a nuisance while there are those who consider them as valuable foot soldiers for the Kingdom of God sent out to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to all of humanity. 

Notable among those opposed to street preaching is the former Resident City Commissioner for Kampala City, Hudu Hussein, who at one point gave the street preachers a 30-day ultimatum to vacate the city. On the other hand, those who approve of street preaching support their cause by giving them money (as they walk past them) or simply defend them whenever anyone says anything against them.

For those in support, I ask: Does sharing messages from God’s word give a Christian permission to become a public nuisance? Does our belief and the truth that God's word is the message of eternal life mean that we must shout it and yell it at anyone we meet, even without their permission? Is this how our Master, Jesus Christ, has called His Church to share His gospel?

Making disciples is the goal

At the end of His time on earth, Jesus Christ told His disciples, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

Being the good teacher He is, Jesus Christ role-modelled for His disciples how they were to make disciples. For three years, Jesus Christ shared His earthly life with the 12 disciples. In that time, He taught them, instructed them, encouraged them, rebuked them, provided for them, met and interacted with their families, etc. It was a relationship where He invested His time and resources powered by a genuine interest in the welfare of the disciples.

What Jesus did is the standard we later see the apostles follow. Remember the numerous trips Paul made to different parts of the world? If it was all about shouting out a few words and, voila, the work is done, would Paul have bothered to make all those trips, some of which were life-threatening? Would Paul have bothered to write the 14 letters/books that makeup about 52% of the New Testament? Paul knew that fulfilling the Master’s commission—making disciples and teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded—was a process that demanded a conscious investment of his time and other resources.

Becoming a Christian (by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour over one’s life) is not just about surviving hell. It is more about one surrendering their life totally to the Lordship of Jesus Christ such that by the power of the Holy Spirit and through reading and obeying God’s word, the believer is transformed more and more into Christ’s likeness. 

Christianity is a character development and transformation process that starts with changing a person’s thoughts to produce godly actions that will become their habits which then become a person’s character. It is an assignment a Christian sets out to fulfil by genuinely loving the person they have chosen to disciple and patiently instructing them in the ways of God. The Great Commission is not a commission that can be fulfilled by shouting at people.

God wants our best

In Malachi chapter 1 verse 8 we see God expressing His disapproval of the sacrifices the Israelites were bringing to Him. Apparently, the Israelites had become comfortable bringing to God blind, crippled, and diseased animals as sacrifices. The LORD told them to try taking those animals to their governor and see if he would be pleased with such sacrifices. 

The Israelites bringing unto God what they could not take to their [human] governor is what the Church is doing by approving of street preaching as a bona fide way of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Have you ever seen anyone (or yourself) look for a spouse or a business partner or customers by going out on the street and shouting at anyone who walks past them confident that those listening will pay attention to what they are saying and join their cause? If we, then, cannot go out to the streets to shout at people so they can be part of our earthly projects, why do we go out and shout the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the key to eternal life?

One word is not enough

Some Christians, in defending street preaching, say that street preaching is not about quantity (of words) but quality. They argue that those listening to the street preacher do not need to hear all that the street preacher has to say. All they need is a statement or just a word that the Holy Spirit will water, cause to grow, and eventually yield fruit in the life of the random listener. 

Believing that a person can come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour by simply listening to a few [random] words is believing God for a miracle because this approach does not work even in dating where strong feelings of attraction already exist between the man and the woman.

Of course, the Holy Spirit is capable of performing the miracle of drawing people to Himself even without any word being said but we are missing a miracle God has already performed. This miracle is the fact that God has already revealed Himself to [and is at work in the life of] the born-again Christian whom He has entrusted with the Great Commission. 

The life of any follower of Jesus Christ is the miracle that God wants to use to draw more men and women to Himself. We, however, do not see it that way because we believe that a miracle must be an extraordinary and mesmerising occurrence. This is why we do not see the healing of wounds on our skin as miracles and run after whoever can feign an extraordinary occurrence. 

Because we are unable (or simply refuse) to see the immense power of God at work through our ordinary happenings in life, we are comfortable giving up the responsibilities God has called us and empowered us to shoulder in the building of His kingdom. We erroneously believe that the more we leave something to chance, the more room we are leaving for God to act. This belief is neglect of our duty as co-creators with God.

Jesus Christ Himself came on earth and dwelt among men for about 33 years in order to make the first disciples for His Church. Jesus Christ, who is God, could have just worked supernaturally and had all people become His disciples, but He did not. 

Relationships built on God’s truth and love lay the foundation for making disciples. Any Christian, therefore, keen on sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ should be keen on building relationships they can take responsibility for as channels for creating disciples. 

God has endowed each believer with so much—spiritually, materially, emotionally, intellectually, etc.—and He calls each Christian to share all they have with others in a bid to make them His disciples. Non-believers have questions and needs, and it is the followers of Jesus Christ whom God has called and empowered to meet those needs, in love.

A ministry with eternal ramifications is not one we can afford to leave to chance—that someone will hear a certain statement and somehow that statement will disturb them until they repent.